landscape lighting as a deterrent?

[QuackerJackFarms]

Yikes! Kind of de-bunks my theory. Not that I believed it anyway. Mine is on a motion sensor, so when it comes on my dog's perk up. They know that it means movement. I have abnormally smart dogs.

My german shepard mix sleeps next to the coop. I'm lucky to have such awesome dogs. But they do nothing for the hawk. Hawks aren't afraid of them AT ALL. Heck, they aren't afraid of me for that matter. And they're so quiet the dogs don't know they're there until it's almost too late.

Sorry I'm rambling. Coffee is kicking in.

 

[bakerjw]

When I was a kid we had coons get into our sweet corn every year. My dad eventually hear about using flashing lights to keep them out so he put 2 of them on step ladders facing down the rows of corn. As crazy as it sounds it did keep the coons away. It also annoyed the neighbors but they tolerated it because it was good sweet corn.

Personally I'm a believer in electric fences. Put a slice in marshmallows and stick them on the wire as an incentive for racoons to come try out the wire.

 

[Pitchfork]

QuackerJack, I worry about Hawks as well. My chickens seem to know when they are around, and to date, (four years now) I have not lost a chicken to a Hawk. Sometimes I think it is that the Hawks have not figured it out yet. Recently there was one actually sitting on the garden fence as the chickens hid under some hedges not twenty feet away. The Hawk sat there for a while and then flew away. Last spring I went out to let the chickens out of the coop and a Coyote trots past me, coming from a little pond I have out back of the coop. This guy, or gal, trots past me not ten feet away, gives me a casual glance, never breaks stride jumps the pasture fence and goes on his merry way. I thought, "well hell if he can clear the pasture fence he can jump into the chicken run, they are the same height, he could have chicken dinner anytime he wants". But he has not figured that out yet, I suppose, as again, I have not lost a chicken. I have not lost one (have about 15) to illness or predator in four years. Knock on wood. They are in a four foot high run when I am gone from the place and when I have my garden in during the spring and summer. Once the garden is done for the year I let them free range when I am home. They seem to know the Hawks feeding time and I will usually find them under the garden hedge row or under my utility trailer or in the equipment barn around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Once the sun is a little lower in the sky they come out and go back to ranging. The Coyote thing really worries me, because I have neighbors that keep large dogs behind four foot chain link fences so I figured my four foot high run fence would keep dogs out, and a Coyote is a dog sort of. But he cleared that pasture field fence with two strands of barbed wire across the top, without breaking stride. That fence is about 4 and 1/2 feet high. Soon as I get the time and money I guess I will have to build a higher fence. But how high can those critters jump I wonder? Anyway time for that second cup of coffee.

 

[azygous]

If anyone has predator problems coming out her ears, it's me. I seem to be quite over-run by bears, bobcats, cougars, skunks, and worst of all, squirrels.

I finally got a bunch of Niteguard lights. These are solar powered, about the size of a cigarette pack, and emit a blinking laser red light that is supposed to make predators think another animal is watching them. Our local game warden says they seem to work very effectively at discouraging predators. After I put them around the perimeter, I had no more attacks.

You can order them online at www.niteguard.com They aren't very expensive and shipping is free.